Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin
Mary Temple Grandinis an American professor of animal science at Colorado State University with autism, world-renowned autism spokesperson and consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior. She is widely celebrated as one of the first individuals on the autism spectrum to publicly share insights from her personal experience of autism. She is also the inventor of the "hug box", a device to calm those on the autism spectrum. In the 2010 Time 100, an annual list of the one...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth29 August 1947
CityBoston, MA
CountryUnited States of America
My mind sort of works like a search engine. You ask me something, and I start seeing pictures.
Some people with autism who don't talk, all they hear are vowel sounds. Like if I said 'cup,' they might just hear 'uh.'
Computerized medical records will enable statistical analysis to be used to determine which treatments are most effective.
I've always thought of myself as a cattle-handling specialist, a college professor first; autism is secondary.
We have got to work on keeping these children engaged with the world.
Language for me narrates the pictures in my mind.
When I was a little child I had problems with eating in the cafeteria. The chairs would be jerking in and out, and there was a noise overload.
I had problems getting my words out. If people spoke directly to me, I understood what they said. But when the grownups got to yakking really fast by themselves, it just sounded like 'oi oi.' I thought grownups had a separate language. I've now figured out I was not hearing the hard consonant sounds.
I think the core criterion is the social awkwardness, but the sensory issues are a serious problem in many, many cases of autism, and they make it impossible to operate in the environment where you're supposed to be social.
Let's get into talking about how autism is similar animal behavior. The thing is I don't think in a language, and animals don't think in a language. It's sensory based thinking, thinking in pictures, thinking in smells, thinking in touches. It's putting these sensory based memories into categories.
When I was younger, I was looking for this magic meaning of life.
I was so afraid to go out west to my aunt's ranch. But the only choice my mother gave me was to go for two weeks or all summer. I wound up staying all summer. And that's where I learned about cattle. I could relate to their behavior, their fears.
I'm wondering where the next Einstein is going to be. He's going to be driving a FedEx truck.
The head must be dead. I can't stress that enough.